How technology can help keep your home secure

When you think about the fact that our most precious assets are generally all kept in one place – in our homes – it can become a worry. After all, doesn’t that make them more vulnerable to theft? If someone were to get into our property, they could take almost everything we owned. It’s a frightening thought, and it’s why so many people are keen to make their homes as secure as possible when they’re not there (and, to some extent, when they are).

If you are still relying on standard locks and latches to protect your possessions from burglars, it might be time to look at how technology could serve you better, and make your home a lot more secure.

Live Streams

By installing technology that includes cameras and streaming, you can check in on your property via a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, whenever you want to. This is ideal for when you are away for extended periods of time such as for work or on vacation. It is your choice how often you check, and there are no penalties for looking at your home multiple times a day. If you do want to use this kind of technology to ensure your house is exactly how you left it, check that it will cover the area you want it to (perhaps with a wide angled lens) and that it has night vision too – if you are away overnight and want to check on your home, you’ll need to be able to see what is happening. Keeping any security system maintained is also essential, so you are never caught out should the worst happen.

No Keys

That feeling of dread and despair when you realize you have lost your house keys and you have no idea where to look for them could be a thing of the past thanks to technology. No more will you have to worry that someone with less than kind intentions can now access your house if your house doesn’t have any keys to get into it at all. It is possible to have digital door locks installed, and these negate the need for a key. They can’t be picked either, so they are entirely safe. Instead of keys, you use a PIN code to enter your home. This is extremely useful if you’re not at home and you need someone else such as a cleaner or pet sitter to enter – just give them the code, and you don’t even need to have more keys cut.

To make things more secure, each person who enters can have their own code. If you think someone has been in your house, you can check back over the entry times and dates in a log, and see who the last person to enter was, and when.

Having a digital lock will also save you money because you won’t have to have the locks changed when you move home, or if you were to lose your keys.

CCTV

Something that has been around for a long time, but is no less useful because of its longevity, is CCTV. Standing for ‘closed circuit television,’ a CCTV camera not only shows you a recording of everything that happened around your home during a certain period of time, but it is also an excellent deterrent to thieves. Someone who is looking to break into a home is far less likely to choose one with a CCTV camera and signage; they will look for a house that has none of this additional security so that they are less likely to be caught. It’s a good idea to have an expert such as this company install your security features to ensure that everything is done correctly.

Remove The Peephole

Peepholes have long been used as an extra layer of security – they allow you to see who is at your door before you open it, and you can choose what your next step should be. The problem with peepholes is that you need to not only be in the house at the time that someone knocks or rings the doorbell, but you also have to be up close to the door to see who it is. This can present a problem if you would rather the person on the other side didn’t know you were home – being that close can alert them to the fact that you’re actually there, making the situation uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.

Instead of a peephole, you can use a small camera. This camera can feed to your smartphone no matter where you are, and you will be able to see who is at the door without the need to get close to them. Some systems will also allow you to speak to the person there, and this can be useful if a delivery has come for you and you need it left in a certain place, or if you want to ask someone to leave. Additional security measures include being able to activate your burglar alarm to scare away potential intruders.

Install A Smart Alarm

The very least a property needs to keep it more secure is an alarm. However, thanks to new technology you can use a smart alarm which does a lot more than just make a loud noise if it is tripped. A smart alarm will be able to stream video to your phone, but that’s not what makes it smart. It is smart because it won’t trigger just because it senses motion. It takes into account any changes in temperature (such as would happen if a door or window was opened, for example), air quality, sounds, and even vibrations. It accumulates all of this data and will alert you via text or push notification if it ‘thinks’ there is a problem.

This is ideal for homes that need to be secured but have pets, for example – the pets won’t trigger the alarm because they won’t cause all the changes to occur that it needs to sense before it starts alerting you, and other people.

You can even arm or disarm your smart alarm remotely, so if you forgot to set it before you headed off on vacation, you could do so when you arrive as long as you have a web connection, of course.

There are many options to consider that may work for you and your property, which, if given due time and consideration to implement, can make your home safer for everyone. By embracing technology and using it to your advantage, you can rest assured your home is as safe and secure as possible.